So far, bad calls have accounted for a 14 point swing against the Patriots.

First an offensive pass interference in the endzone is called a defensive pass interference..ball goes to Denver on the 1.

Then the guy fumbles the ball into the endzone and out of bounds, and it's not called...ball goes to Denver on the 1.

I'm all for 'they're only human', but when two calls go against the same team, and both of them hand the other team touchdowns that they wouldn't have had nearly as strong a chance for otherwise, it's a bit ridiculous.

Sometimes you have to wonder if the referees are watching a different game.

I don’t watch the NFL, but with all the video replay capabilities, shouldn’t all controversial calls get a quick review by the officials “upstairs”? With the constant stoppages in play with football… it would hardly be an inconvenience to anyone for the occasional review.

I realize that “referee error” is considered a part of the game, but when hundreds of millions of dollars are involved in a single game… maybe allowing mistakes in officiating is not the best idea.

Then again, controversy is a big draw for ratings… so maybe it’s in the best interest to
allow human error to continue with sports officiating. Could you imagine the WWF
(is it still called that?) without the distracted referee and whole “foreign object” attack? ;-)

What about that Steelers interception today that was called an incomplete pass upon review? What was that ref on? He had it for like a minute before he fumbled it.

quote:

Originally posted by Cody K.:
Then again, controversy is a big draw for ratings… so maybe it’s in the best interest to
allow human error to continue with sports officiating. Could you imagine the WWF
(is it still called that?) without the distracted referee and whole “foreign object” attack? ;-)

It's called WWE now
Actually without the distracted referee people would still watch the WWE, because the WWE itself is *the* controversy

quote:

Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
So far, bad calls have accounted for a 14 point swing against the Patriots.

First an offensive pass interference in the endzone is called a defensive pass interference..ball goes to Denver on the 1.

Then the guy fumbles the ball into the endzone and out of bounds, and it's not called...ball goes to Denver on the 1.

I'm all for 'they're only human', but when two calls go against the same team, and both of them hand the other team touchdowns that they wouldn't have had nearly as strong a chance for otherwise, it's a bit ridiculous.

Ok Bob, you're from around Boston and I'm from around Denver, so here is my take. I agree the pass interference was pretty weak, but at the same time, at real speed, it's a bit tougher to call. I think it should probably have been a no-call since they were both slapping each other. As far as the Champ Bailey play, there was not a definitive angle to overturn it. Remember, it's just where the very tip of the ball crosses the line, so if the front tip of the ball goes out on the one-inch line, it's not a touchback. Either way, there was not enough conclusive evidence to reverse the call. The Pat's have had their fair share of calls throughout the years, too. These just didn't go their way.

Yeah..I mean, the questionable calls did account for the margin of victory in the game, but...Denver wouldn't have even had those chances if it weren't for bad fumbles and a bad interception. So the Patriots only have theirselves to blame -- just, the referees helped.

Normally referee error evens out, or if it doesn't, it's not such a significant play. But this was a bit extreme..

That Steelers bad call was worse. But fortunately for them the Colts screwed up.

The refeering in both AFC games was awful. They clearly blew the phantom pass interference call against the Pats, but they REALLY blew the call against the Steelers...the league apologized for that one today.

I think the call on the Champ Bailey INT was more reasonable...it's hard to find indisputable evidence one way or the other. But that was an all-world play by Watson of the Pats to come from somewhere in Colorado Springs to catch ol' showboat Champ.

The last five minutes of the Steelers/Colts game were truly the best of this NFL season. Wow!

There were a crap load of penalties in the first half of the Bronco-Pats game against the Broncos, then there was a bunch against the Pats beginning in the very end of the 2nd quarter to the end of the game.
The refs didnt do too bad of a job on this game, and i believe that the interference call was a good one( i was at the game, and i was screaming for interference before the refs called it)
Im sure the TV made it look like a bad call, probably because everyone doesnt want to accept that the Patriots can actually lose a playoff game.
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!